Even Mrs. Rintoul showed
a fortitude and courage that would not have been expected from her.
"One never knows people," Mrs. Doolan said to Isobel, as they
walked back from one of these meetings, "as long as one only sees
them under ordinary circumstances. I have never had any patience
with Mrs. Rintoul, with her constant complaining and imaginary
ailments. Now that there is really something to complain about, she
is positively one of the calmest and most cheerful among us. It is
curious, is it not, how our talk always turns upon home? India is
hardly ever mentioned. We might be a party of intimate friends,
sitting in some quiet country place, talking of our girlhood.
Why, we have learnt more of each other and each other's history in
the last fortnight than we should have done if we had lived here
together for twenty years under ordinary circumstances. Except as
to your little brother, I think you are the only one, Isobel, who
has not talked much of home."
"I suppose it is because my home was not a very happy one," Isobel
said.
"I notice that all the talk is about happy scenes, nothing is ever
said about disagreeables. I suppose, my dear, it is just as I have
heard, that starving people talk about the feasts they have eaten,
so we talk of the pleasant times we have had. It is the contrast
that makes them dearer. It is funny, too, if anything can be funny
in these days, how different we are in the evening, when we have
the men with us, to what we are when we are together alone in the
day.
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